ιт'ѕ σνєя, ιѕη'т ιт? - - / chapter four
Aug 4, 2016 14:56:00 GMT -5
𝓣𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓿𝓲𝓮𝓵, phantomstar57, and 7 more like this
Post by Skyfall on Aug 4, 2016 14:56:00 GMT -5
Intro - - /
I hope you don't mind. This new fic is called "It's Over, Isn't It?" and is inspired by the Steven Universe song of the same name. Honestly, it's very beautiful and is kind of what this story is going to be about... Only my version is going to be far more tragic. I'm good at tragedy so... get your tissue boxes (maybe) and let's dive in y'all.
Synopsis - - /
"It's over, isn't it?"
Her whole life was spent with someone. Now, that's someone's gone. That someone chose someone else. That choice resulted her demise. All that's left as her legacy, a daughter. A daughter that's just as alone as she is.
"I'll watch over her, Lapis. I'll watch over our daughter for you."
Her whole life was spent with someone. Now, that's someone's gone. That someone chose someone else. That choice resulted her demise. All that's left as her legacy, a daughter. A daughter that's just as alone as she is.
"I'll watch over her, Lapis. I'll watch over our daughter for you."
The Players - - /
Flame :: long-haired ginger she-cat with emerald eyes; black whiskers; fluffy fur; long tail; short as far as cats go; kind of deep voice for a she-cat; a Guardian of the Dream Stone
Lapis :: short-haired blue-gray she-cat with eyes so blue they're almost purple; small paws; slender but lean; large eyes; high-pitched voice like the peel of a bell; a Guardian of the Dream Stone
Ezra :: jet-black tom with amber eyes that are usually sparkling with mischief; muscular; one white paw on his left forepaw; his right forepaw is missing two toes; he has a V-shaped mark in his right ear; a rogue theif
Bella :: coming soon
Alasdair :: coming soon
Zander :: coming soon
Maeve :: coming soon
Constantine :: coming soon
Lapis :: short-haired blue-gray she-cat with eyes so blue they're almost purple; small paws; slender but lean; large eyes; high-pitched voice like the peel of a bell; a Guardian of the Dream Stone
Ezra :: jet-black tom with amber eyes that are usually sparkling with mischief; muscular; one white paw on his left forepaw; his right forepaw is missing two toes; he has a V-shaped mark in his right ear; a rogue theif
Bella :: coming soon
Alasdair :: coming soon
Zander :: coming soon
Maeve :: coming soon
Constantine :: coming soon
Prologue
“It’s over, isn’t it?” The words were whispered like a prayer. A prayer to what, she did not know. All she knew is that she wanted them to be heard—not by any passing individual… but by her.
Her.
Gone.
“I fought so hard to save you…”
These words were choked out, forced past tears of pain and regret. Her body trembled as she struggled to remain on her paws.
“I fought so hard to save you… and her… and I lost you both. I lost you both… I’m sorry Lapis… I’m so sorry…”
The tree before her twisted into the sky, its branches looking like outstretched claws against the purple and orange sky. Barren of leaves, its bark was scorched and gnarled. Black and dead against an equally empty landscape. Everything that had been alive on the hill was dead—burned away by the fire, and before that eroded by time itself.
Nothing lasts forever.
Nothing.
Her body heaved with sobs. It was all she could do to keep herself on her paws. All she wanted was to see Lapis one last time. She wanted to feel the brush of her soft, pale gray fur against hers… She wanted to hear her laugh that was a sweet and pure as the peel of a bell. She wanted to just be with her best friend again.
She wanted to be whole again.
Time changes everything. It changes the earth on which we live. It changes us as beings. It alters our thoughts and our memories. It withers our bodies and minds. It moves on and it stops for nothing. In many ways, time is our greatest foe.
But there was one thing she had been counting on time to do for her; time heals wounds.
Why couldn’t it heal hers?
Maybe it simply wasn’t possible…
Maybe she loved Lapis too much.
Part 1; Five Years Ago
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
“The winds feel strange,” Flame murmured. Her long, ginger fur billowed as a strong gust hit the two felines. They stood on a single, solitary hill that overlooked the forest where they lived. Flame had been on edge all morning—there was something off about today, but she could not quite determine what that something was. She closed her eyes and inhaled, hoping that there would be some scent that could guide her closer to what she sought.
Nothing.
“You think everything feels strange,” Lapis remarked. The pale gray she-cat lounged underneath an old elm tree. Her long limbs were sprawled out as she stretched. Grass blades, dirt, and some pollen clung to her fur. Her cerulean blue eyes looked up at her friend. Flame met her gaze for a moment and felt herself immediately regret the decision. It was not difficult to get lost in Lapis’s eyes.
Tearing her own away from her friend, she looked back out over the forest. “Fine, just ignore me,” Flame muttered under her breath. “Even though you know my hunches like this are almost always right.”
She heard the sounds of scuffling behind her. She glanced to her left and saw that Lapis was now beside her. “What do you think is wrong, Flame?” she asked, completely serious now. Her eyes held a look, almost of admiration. Flame felt her face grow hot, although she couldn’t help the pride that rose in her chest. Lapis valued her—she knew it. Flame knew that she was difficult to put up with on a daily basis. Lapis could have left at any time, but she stayed. She always stayed. She always chose Flame.
“I… don’t know,” Flame admitted. “I just feel it. I can’t explain.” She sat down and let out another sigh as the wind buffeted her fur.
Lapis let out a sigh and plopped down beside her. The gray she-cat leaned into her friend’s soft fur and let out a sigh. “Well, if you don’t know, let’s not worry about it until it gets here, okay?”
Flame pursed her lips into a thin line. She knew that strategy was not wise. But Lapis had a point: what could they do if they didn’t know what was wrong?
Every day from the time they were seven moon cycles old, Flame and Lapis stood watch at the old elm tree that bordered their territory. Like their mothers before them, and their grandmothers before that, they were guardians of the Dream Stone. The Dream Stone, despite its unexciting name, was a very important artifact of their kind. Those that fell asleep next to the Dream Stone could see almost whatever they willed—the past, the present, the future, different universes, and sometimes it was said that, with the right process, the dead could be conjured.
Flame did not know if she believed in all of those things—personally, did not see how a glorified rock could do all that. She knew that Lapis believed, though. Lapis, oddly enough, enjoyed myths and legends. Lapis was not the sharpest claw on the paw either. Of course, that did not mean that Flame cared for her any less.
They were meant to be together, Flame and Lapis. Their mothers had grown up together and had been best friends. They both got pregnant around the same time. Flame was born first with her brother, Shard. The day after, Lapis and her sisters, Azul and Star, were born. They grew up together, trained together, and now guarded the Dream Stone together.
Of course, neither had ever seen the Dream Stone. All they knew was that it was located deep in the forest where they lived in a forgotten cave that only the elder council knew of. The elder council decided where guards would be posted; Flame and Lapis had been assigned the southernmost border of the forest. There were six other teams, each located and specific points surrounding and throughout the territory. At dusk, the daytime guards would be relieved of their duties by the nighttime guards. The younger guards almost always got the night shift—Lapis and Flame had gone through it their first few season-cycles until the daytime guards on the southern end retired and joined the elders. After their retirement, some elders were promoted to the elder council and were told the secrets of the tribe. The ones that were not chosen lived normal lives of relative boredom until death took them.
Flame often wondered if she would ever become a member of the elder council, that is, if she lived that long. Few guards lived long enough to retire let alone be named members of the council. She glanced over at Lapis and smiled to herself. For a brief moment, she imagined the two of them, old and gray but… content. They sat on the elder council, side-by-side. Blue-gray and fire-red fur touching. Sapphire eyes occasionally meeting emerald.
She shook the though away.
Living in the future was hardly the way to go about things—especially for one with such a low life expectancy.
“Hey,” Flame murmured, glancing down at her friend who was still leaning against her. “Maybe we should go patrol the border? At least up until Ragnar and Heath’s section?”
The gray she-cat pulled herself to her paws. “Yeah, sure. I guess it’s better than sitting under this stupid tree all day. Besides, maybe seeing the border and checking things out will make you feel better?” she suggested. Lapis gave her friend a wistful look before bounding down the hill.
Flame nodded to herself. “Maybe,” she mumbled. Her tail swished as she got up. She took one last glance over the forest before trotting after Lapis.
Chapter 2
Flame and Lapis made their way along the border in a comfortable silence. Every now and then, Flame’s tail would brush Lapis’s. Her heart did little somersaults whenever Lapis did not immediately pull it away. They marked the borders dutifully and finally reached Ragnar and Heath’s section.
“Well, our section is safe,” Lapis commented. She looked at Flame, blinking. “Let’s head back to our hill.”
Just as the words left Lapis’s mouth, a breeze swirled around them, carrying a new, alien scent. Both she-cats froze where they stood, eyes locked. “Outsider!” Flame hissed in a low voice. “We’re downwind, take cover and get eyes on him before we attack!”
Lapis’s cerulean eyes were wide. “But, Flame… We don’t even know if they’re coming this way.”
“We can hardly leave this place now!” the ginger she-cat retorted. “We don’t have a choice. We have to protect the Dream Stone, Lapis. That’s our job. That’s what the elder council told us to do. This is our assignment. This is our job. Do you want to fail and become one of the civilians? Live boring lives in the camp doing nothing but hunting and breeding?” Flame knew her words sounded harsh and extreme, but they were not entirely untrue. Guards who let others pass into their tribe’s territory were harshly reprimanded. It depended on how far they allowed the intruders to get—too far and the cats were demoted from guard duty… or worse.
Flame did not miss the look of resentment that crossed Lapis’s face. She said no more as she bounded off to hide beneath a briar bush. Flame watched her go, unable to quell the guiltiness in her stomach. She knew that she should not scold Lapis like she was a silly kit, but sometimes her mouth got ahead of her head. Flame bounded over to a nearby tree. She was not the best climber, but she knew that the aerial advantage might be key. Flame dug her claws into the bark as she pulled herself up to one of the tree’s lowest branches. From her perch, she could see Lapis’s pale gray fur visible through the briars. She tore her eyes away from her and looked out over the meadow that lay on the other side of their southern border. Her eyes scanned the open land, searching for some sign of life.
Then she spotted them; two cats came into view in the distance. Their features were unintelligible from such a distance, but Flame could make out two distinctive shapes. She narrowed her eyes as she watched them get closer and closer to the border. They wouldn’t notice the scent markers until they were on top of them thanks to the wind. The question was, once they smelled them, what would they do? If they turned tail and walked back to where they came from, there was no need to fight. If they continued past the border, Flame knew she would have to engage them. She and Lapis were lucky that there were only two of them—it made for an easier fight. Of course, the two she-cats were highly skilled warriors—if they weren’t, they would have never been named guards by the elder council. They were trained to take on up to five cats at once. It was no easy feat, and whether or not one of them would actually survive a fight of that magnitude, they were taught how to handle such situations.
The closer the two cats got, Flame noticed more about them. One was very large and had fur that was blacker than the darkest night. The other was smaller and a dusty-brown color with a bobbed tail. Flame strained her ears to pick up on their conversation.
“…get it and take it to the Tribe of Thundering Clouds, do you imagine how indebted they’d be to us?” It was the black one speaking. His voice was deep, rumbling, and held an air of authority. Was he the other cat’s superior?
“I don’t know, Ezra,” the brown one—a she-cat—replied. They were at the border now. “Don’t you smell that? I doubt these cats want anything to do with us.”
“Of course they don’t want anything to do with us, Yara,” the black one—Ezra—replied. Flame felt her pelt bristle as he stepped across the borderline carelessly. “They spend their whole lives guarding that stupid stone according to the Tribe of Thundering Clouds—I doubt they’d be too keen on us stealing it. And besides, we aren’t stealing it today—just taking a look at the territory and getting its basic layout.”
“Ezra,” Yara murmured, sniffing a rock that Flame had marked earlier. “These markings are fresh. What if we run into a group of them? We’re thieves, not warriors. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
The black tom ignored her and continued further into the territory. Flame watched him like a hawk, her eyes never leaving his black shape. If he just walked a little further and to the right, she would be able to pounce…
“Don’t worry about it,” Ezra prattled. “We’re gonna be in and out—easy!” He was closer to her now. She could make it.
Flame looked over at Lapis. She was in a good position to charge for the female. “Okay,” she whispered to herself. “It’s all or nothing.” She bunched her muscles. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins, heightening her senses. All she could see was that black tom in below her. Flame raised her head and let out a battle cry before plunging downwards. Ezra froze and looked up just as Flame slammed into him. Distantly, she could make out the sound of Lapis’s snarl as she lunged from the briars. Just as Flame predicted, her friend had gone after the she-cat.
She wasted no time in shoving Ezra into the dirt. “This is my territory you rot-eater!” she growled. “I am giving you one chance, rogue. Leave now and never return to this place. If not, I will gut you like a fish!”
Ezra let out a low growl. She felt him shifting beneath her and knew that he was going to make a move. Cursing, Flame leapt away before Ezra could slam his entire weight up against her. The ginger she-cat crouched low, watching him closely. Ezra scrambled to his paws now that he was free. She didn’t miss the look in his eyes—the look of fear. He wanted to flee while he had the chance, but his pride wouldn’t let him. He had him glued to that spot. She could tell—she knew that look well. Flame found herself smirking. “What’s the matter, rogue? Too scared to run? Think you won’t make it?” she taunted. “Why don’t we see who’s faster?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of gray fur.
Lapis.
Her friend had chased off the brown she-cat and had doubled back to help Flame. Lapis crouched low to the ground several cat-lengths behind Ezra. Slowly, she crept forward, silent as wraith. For a split second, their eyes met. A silent exchange was made—Flame knew what she had to do: distract Ezra until Lapis was close enough to strike.
Ezra did not respond to Flame’s taunts, nor did he move. Instead, he stared her down. The look of fear in his eyes was gone, replaced with a kind of hatred that Flame was also familiar with. “What’s the matter? Too scared to speak now?” she teased. Lapis was steadily getting closer. “Come on, thief. Let’s see how good you are. You beat me, you walk free and you can go back to your little pack of undesirables. I win… well, then I win. Come on… Don’t be a coward.”
Something flashed in Ezra’s eyes. Without warning, he launched himself forward, toward Flame. His claws were outstretched and there was a fire in his amber eyes. He intended to kill her and she knew it. Lapis left the ground not even a moment after Ezra, her long, lean body soaring through the air. Flame dove forward, sliding under both cats to avoid Erza’s claws. Once she was out of the line of fire, Flame spun around, her pelt bristling. Ezra was laying on his side, growling. Lapis stood a cat-length away, on her paws and looking down at him in disdain.
Flame felt her stomach leap into her throat when she saw Ezra lunge toward Lapis. She was running before she even knew what was happening. All she could think was two little words: not her.
Not her.
Lapis saw Ezra’s movement, however. She met him with unsheathed claws. With a surprising amount of strength, she knocked the tom back against the tree Flame had been perched in. Ezra hit it with a loud thud and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Chapter 3
“Lapis!” Flame shouted, reaching her friend’s side. “Are you okay?”
The gray she-cat nodded. Confusion was present in her eyes. “Of course, I am—the rogue was no match for us. Although, I’m afraid that the small she-cat got away.” She glanced down at the unconscious tom. “We need to get him back to the camp so the elders can decide what to do with him.”
Flame nodded. “Agreed. We’ll both have to carry him though—he’s too big for one of us alone.”
Lapis absentmindedly gave a nod, but made no move to approach Ezra’s body. Flame saw that she was staring at the ground, her brow furrowed. “Lapis?” she mewed softly. She approached her friend, their pelts brushing. “What’s up?” Flame asked the question with a gentle nudge, as though to hopefully snap her out of her reverie.
The gray she-cat let out a small sigh. “Flame… do you ever feel like we have no idea what we’re really doing?” she inquired in a small voice.
Flame blinked. The question took her by surprise. “What do you mean, Lapis?”
“I mean…” she cut off with a sharp sigh. “What the two rogues were talking about—the Tribe of Thundering Clouds? Who are they? How do they know us? Why do they want what I assume to be the Dream Stone? I mean, why else would thieves be coming here on their behalf? That’s the only thing we have worth taking. And why don’t we even know what the Dream Stone really is or what it does? The elders keep all this stuff to themselves, I mean… We don’t know what we really guard, who we guard it from, or why we guard it to begin with… We just do as we’re told—dutiful little soldiers. What if… What if we’re the bad guys, Flame?”
“We’re not,” the ginger assured her. “Lapis, I know we’re not. We—especially you—are too good to be bad guys.”
Lapis did not look convinced. There was lost look in her eyes now as she shook her head. “I… I was going to kill him, Flame,” she murmured, jerking her head toward Ezra. “Him and the she-cat… I was going to kill them both…” she trailed off, her voice cracking a little. Then, suddenly, her eyes met Flame’s. She looked… angry. “I almost killed somebody, Flame! I almost killed two cats because—because why? I was trained to kill—we both were. We were trained to protect the Stone and kill any outsider that tries to take it… But… who are we to decide who lives and who dies, Flame?”
She was at a loss. What could she possibly say to help her friend? Were there even words that could calm her fears? “Lapis… that’s not…” She was struggling. “It’s not your fault, okay? Maybe when we get back to camp, we can get some answers from the elders—I think we deserve them for bringing this rogue to them. Speaking of which, we need to get moving and get him back to camp before he wakes up.
Lapis looked like she was going to protest for a moment before nodding. “You… You’re right, Flame. You always are. Come on, help me with him.”
* * *
The two returned to camp just after sunhigh, carrying the still unconscious Ezra on their backs. The civilians stopped what they were doing and stared as the two guards carried the unconscious outsider into their midst. Flame looked around at them all, her pelt growing hot with embarrassment. She was born into this tribe. She grew up amongst these cats. She played with some of them when she was a young kit. She not only protected the Dream Stone but them as well… So why was it that every time she entered camp she felt like such an outsider?
A few of the cats rushed toward the large cave where the elders dwelt. The stories of how the tribe was founded said that Twolegs used to inhabit the cave during the day. They would take out some of the shiny rocks from it and jealously guard them. This was supposedly how their tribe’s founder, Shufta, discovered the Dream Stone. The Twolegs do not come to the forest anymore, and it is now where the elder council held their meetings.
“Flame, what is the meaning of this?” The voice was raspy with age, but echoed with strength that was lost moons ago. Radley, one of the elders, had been lounging outside in the sun when the pair entered and was now padding toward them. He was an old, white tomcat with glassy eyes. Living underground in the cave for so long resulted in many of the elders’ eye sight weakening. Some lost it entirely. “Why do you bring this outsider here?”
“Radley,” Flame greeted him, bowing her head in respect. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lapis do the same. “Lapis and I were on guard duty on the southern border when we encountered this rogue and another sniffing around the border. We overhead them speak of stealing the Dream Stone.” These words resulted in several frightened gasps from the civilians. “We engaged and the second cat got away. This one we managed to subdue—he seemed to be the leader. It was implied that there were more cats under his command and we knew that this was something the council should investigate.”
The white tom studied the two guards and their prize for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. Alasdair will want to interrogate him. Follow me, I’ll bring you to the main chamber.”
Chapter 4
The cave was pitch black. Every sound they made echoed, bouncing off the walls and coming back to slam against their ears. Flame’s eyes kept darting around, searching for some shape in the darkness and found none. Even when her eyes adjusted, she could see nothing. Her pelt brushed against Lapis’s, taking comfort in her friend’s presence. She could smell Lapis’s fear and was glad that she was not the only one unnerved by the darkness.
Flame sensed a change in air as they entered a large, open cave. This area was just as dark as the tunnel they entered through; no matter how hard Flame squinted, she could see nothing before her. She wondered how the elder council could make their way around in such perpetual darkness. It was no wonder that most of the elders were going blind, if they were not so already.
“Radley,” an old, gravelly voice spoke from the shadows. It seemed to be one with the darkness, completely at home in this alien world. It held an air of confidence that demanded respect. The voice made Flame shudder. Even though the council decided who would be guardians and who would be civilians, few members were actually seen. The younger elders occasionally came out of the cave, mostly because they still thrived in the sunlight and were not used to the eternal darkness. However, the older ones that had been serving for as long as any cat could remember, remained always in the dark. Flame did not even know who the voice belonged to. She was fearful even to breathe to indicate her presence. Of course, they had heard her enter along with Lapis and the rogue. “Why do you bring the uninitiated into our dwelling?”
Flame heard Radley shuffle his paws like a nervous apprentice addressing their mentor. “Forgive me, Constantine,” the white elder murmured. “Two guardians returned early from their duties, bringing with them an outsider—a rogue. They claim that he was planning to steal the Dream Stone. They believed the council may wish to speak with the cat when he wakes.”
Silence followed Radley’s explanation. Flame’s heart was beating rapidly in her chest. She moved closer to Lapis, just to make sure her friend was still there. Her friend’s pelt stood on end. Fear radiated off her in waves. Their desire to get answers as to who the Tribe of Thundering Clouds were disappeared. Both she-cats were filled the overwhelming sense to flee while they still could. Flame felt almost sick to her stomach. These cats were her elders—a part of her tribe. Why did she feel so afraid?
“This is unorthodox,” the male voice that belonged to Constantine replied. “Guardians are meant to kill all trespassers, not bring them to the heart of camp. What will happen when this cat’s friends discover that we are holding him captive? They will come looking for him and will arrive at our camp! These two guardians have jeopardized us all.”
“Come now, Constantine,” a female voice spoke. Even though Constantine’s voice was one that demanded respect, this she-cat spoke down on him like he was a disobedient kit. “You know the guardians are well-trained. They will do their job as always, regardless of whether or not these uncivilized rogues come calling. I’m rather interested in what this tomcat will have to say when he wakes.”
“I agree with Maeve,” another male voice piped up. “When we are done with this rogue, we can execute him in front of the tribe to show them how we deal with intruders. It will make the civilians feel safe. The guardians can leave his body on the border where he set paw on our land. That will show the others what our tribe is capable of.”
“That may inspire the cat’s friends to seek revenge, Damon,” Constantine continued to protest.
“Oh, Constantine, are you really that scared of a band of rogues?” a she-cat sneered. This one was different from the first, Maeve. Her voice was sharp and nasally as she insulted her fellow council member. “I remember when you used to be itching to sink your fangs into their necks. Now you’re old and scared.”
“Harley, that’s enough,” a tom commented. The voice did not sound very old like the others. Instead, it was of a higher-pitch and almost sounded youthful. “Constantine has served our tribe for a very long time. He fears only for the well-being of the civilians, as every guardian should. But, I also agree with Maeve. I think that we should interrogate him.”
“But—”
“Enough.”
Constantine’s argument was cut off by a very deep voice that came from the opposite side of the cavern. Flame’s ears strained forward as a cat made their way toward them through the darkness. There was more movement as others scrambled out of this tom’s way. Flame felt her pelt bristle as this new tom halted right in front of them. “Guardians,” he greeted them. His voice was somewhat softer now as he addressed Flame and Lapis. “State your name and tell me everything you heard in the rogues’ exchange.”
Flame’s mouth was dry. As much as she wanted to fill the elder’s request, she could not will herself to speak. She desperately nudged Lapis for help, but her friend also appeared speechless.
“Alasdair,” it was the tom from before, who had defended Constantine. “Perhaps—”
“Silence, Abel,” the deep voice snapped. “I am the head of the elder council. And I want to hear what these guardians have to say. Go ahead, young ones. Tell me what you heard.”
Flame scratched her claws against the stone, trying to will herself to speak. To her great surprise, it was Lapis who spoke first. “We heard him speaking with a she-cat about stealing the Dream Stone. They came to the territory on a scouting mission—to get the general layout. The tom spoke of bringing the Stone to a tribe known as the Tribe of Thundering Clouds.”
Silence followed Lapis’s explanation.
“Great Starpelt,” the cat named Abel murmured. “It’s much worse than we thought.”
“Alasdair.” It was Constantine again. “If that is true—if the Tribe of Thundering Clouds are involved—”
“We will not have this discussion now,” Alasdair cut him off decisively. “Guardians, thank you for bringing us this information. “You may leave the tom here. When he wakes, we will question him. You are dismissed.”
Flame shrugged the still unconscious Ezra off her shoulders and started for the exit. She paused when she did not hear Lapis’s paw-steps behind her. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see her friend’s shape in the darkness. Lapis’s voice gave away her position, and her words made Flame’s blood run cold.
“What is the Tribe of Thundering Clouds?”
Flame’s pelt bristled even more fiercely. Why did Lapis persist on asking her stupid questions? When cats were dismissed by the elders, that meant that they needed to leave. They did not hang around and ask questions that they were clearly not meant to learn the answers to. Clearly based on Alasdair’s response to Constantine, he did not want the guardians knowing about the Tribe of Thundering Clouds.
“You are in no position to ask questions, guardian,” Harley growled from the darkness. “We dismissed you, now leave.”
“Lapis,” Flame hissed when she still did not hear her friend approach. “Come on!”
“Listen to your partner, she-cat,” Alasdair advised. “It would be most unwise not to.”
Flame let out a sigh of relief as she heard Lapis pad toward her in the darkness. Just as Flame was certain that they were both finally going to get out, mostly without incident, Alasdair’s voice called them back. “She-cat, the one who doesn’t like following orders,” he said. Flame’s breath came in rapid gasps. Oh no, Lapis. You’ve done it now. “What’s your name?”
“Lapis, sir,” she timidly answered. Flame could smell her friend’s fear scent. All she could do was pray that they got out of there as soon as possible.
“I’ll keep my eye on you, Lapis.”
It's literally been the best seeing you guys again, the nostalgia is overwhelming <3 
